Tow Truck War Erupts in Philadelphia After Driver Allegedly Shoots Towing Rival

PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) Pushy tow truck drivers are not foreign to the streets of Philadelphia, but an incident that occurred Monday between two rival tow truck companies has tipped the scale.

Vehicles from both J & Son's Auto Body and Mystical Complete Auto Service rushed to the same accident at roughly the same time which is not unheard of; however, then their dispute escalated and ended when the J & Son's Auto Body worker shot the other driver.

What makes this even more interesting is the fact that Jose LaTorre Jr., the alleged shooter, had arrived at the scene in a Cadillac Escalade, not a tow truck, but was still trying to claim the damaged vehicle for his business, say police.

The shooting sparked a series of violent events and by Wednesday the two rival companies were engaged in a full-blown tow truck war.

Jose LaTorre Sr. claims he has not seen his son, who allegedly shot the Mystical driver, since the day of the shooting, and wants to know who is responsible for torching 13 of the cars on his lot Wednesday.

On the other hand, John Campbell, the owner of Mystical says LaTorre Jr. called him to say he never meant for any of this to happen, but never apologized for firing bullets into the side of his shop on the same day J & Sons vehicles were vandalized.

Two more violent incidents have pitted the rival companies against one another.  No one knows who to blame, but they are quick to suspect one another.

Luckily, no one has been seriously injured. Police have issued an arrest warrant for Jose LaTorre Jr.

City Councilman Frank Rizzo believes there is an easy solution: having wreck chasers take turns picking up crashed vehicles.

Genius.

"Philadelphia is making it sound like rotational towing is like landing on the moon. This is done all over the United States of America," Rizzo said.